Archive for July 2013
Evening Food Cravings Linked to Circadian System
Despite best intentions, many people fall prey to unhealthy snack cravings in the late evening. But before you beat yourself up for being seduced by the siren song of your favorite duo—Ben and Jerry—new research suggests that perhaps we are hardwired for such eating patterns.
Read MoreAsk the RD
Answer: Not really, but I can understand your confusion. While the FDA is responsible for regulating claims that food manufacturers make about a food’s nutrition content and its affect on disease, health or body function, dietary supplements are treated differently.
Read MoreReading Suggestions From the Food and Nutrition World
A wealth of thought-provoking food books have been published just in time for some enlightening summer reading. Topics range from how food is grown and sourced to how it is processed and marketed—and the many choices you have for preparing it to nourish yourself and others. Whether you prefer investigative journalism, science-based writing, experiential accounts or flat-out cookery, there is a book here for you. All of them will open your mind to valuable facts and philosophies you can apply in your own life and share with clients.
Read MoreThe Benefits of Kettlebells
Over the past several years, kettlebells have emerged (or reemerged) as a prominent fixture in fitness facilities. But are these crude tools worth their pood?*
To learn about the benefits of kettlebells, researchers enlisted by the American Council on Exercise studied 30 participants, who were divided into two groups—an exercise group and a nonexercise control group. Prior to the trials, the exercisers completed two introductory kettlebell sessions to
learn form and technique; they practiced one- and two-handed swings, snatches and other movements.
Back Pain? Try Walking
Walking may not be the exercise form de rigueur for today’s athlete, but research continues to support its many benefits. Recently, researchers from Tel Aviv University, in Israel, discovered that a home walking program could be just as effective as strengthening exercises for improving
back pain.
The study included 52 sedentary adults aged 18–65 with back pain. They were separated into a moderate-intensity treadmill walking group and an exercise group that performed specific low-back exercises. Each group completed its respective protocols twice per week for 6 weeks.
Lifelong Exercise Keeps Seniors Young
Exercise early in life—benefit later in life. That’s what researchers from Ball State University’s Human Performance Laboratory, in Indiana, concluded in a study published recently in the Journal of Applied Physiology (2013; 114 [1], 3–10).
Scientists looked at “whole body aerobic capacity and myocellular markers of oxidative metabolism in lifelong endurance athletes and age-matched healthy, untrained men.”
Dirty Dozen™ and Clean Fifteen™ Lists Updated
Be informed and choosy when selecting fruits and vegetables, as pesticide residue may be lurking where you least expect it.
The new Dirty Dozen and Dirty Dozen Plus™ lists—a part of Environmental Working Group’s 2013 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™—are out, and apples have taken the dubious top spot again. Take heart, the Clean Fifteen can help you buy nonorganics with confidence.
Dieting Data
What’s Ahead for Personal Training?
There’s no separating America’s alarming obesity epidemic and the nation’s out-of-control healthcare spending. In theory, these problems should drive demand for personal trainers in the years to come, but in reality, most trainers’ clients are already fitness enthusiasts who are not part of the obesity problem.
Read MoreDo Fitness Pros Understand Clients With Obesity?
??In 1988, Joan Darragh tipped the scales at 288 pounds. During a trip to Japan, she had a defining moment. “I was in a bar, and I sat on a stool built for the slighter Asian frame,” says the New York City resident. “Suddenly, the bolts on my metal stool started to pop.” She tried to pretend it wasn’t her stool making that noise, but she still kept one foot on the floor.
Read MoreEscape the Time-For-Money Trap With Online Products
?Jason is a busy fitness professional. He generally leads 35 one-on-one sessions and five group training hours per week, splitting his time between two fitness facilities. Jason also runs a Sunday boot camp at the local park. In his spare time he develops client and group fitness programs, answers emails, returns phone calls and tries to keep up with a weekly blog. Jason is married and has a young son, but time with his family is limited owing to his busy schedule. Despite his efforts, he struggles to pay his bills each month.
Read MoreThe Art and Science of Manifesting
When I was a child growing up on a farm in the mostly snow-covered fields of Minnesota, I imagined a very different life: living in an airy house in a sunny climate, wearing flowing white clothes and welcoming many guests. In junior high, I wrote a paper on being a freelance writer. Today, I am a freelance writer in Southern California in a spacious home with plenty of guests (relatives from Minnesota!); and yes, I do like to wear white. Exactly how this life materialized seems to be part conscious determination, part cosmic mystery—and there you have the maddening beauty of manifesting.
Read MoreA Life With Meaning
Are you happy in your fitness career? If you are, you have no doubt found your calling in helping others reach their full potential. Accompanying them as they persevere through difficult times and break new ground is heartwarming and meaningful to you.
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